Becoming a Monster

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Is he Losing Control?

Ailetta could only anxiously think to her about how long she has waited for this moment. The droplet of blood was just about to land into her mouth, but when the moment it felt as if the blood was about to be released, all of its magnificent aura dissipated. The heavenly aroma also dispersed, causing the regular smell in the air to feel stale and appalling when compared to it.

Her shock left her frozen, disbelief consumed her to what was happening. It was when the bead of blood still managed to find itself on her tongue that her awareness became active again to what happened.

Her entire body tensed, not with fury, but with a growing sense of dread. Why had Noah stopped? The fear that gripped her wasn’t of the loss of power, but about the reason behind Noah’s decision.

Ailetta’s mind spiraled. Had she done something wrong? Was she not worthy? These thoughts clawed at her, gnawing at her confidence. She had been patient, she had waited, fought, and sacrificed so much to be by his side, to be more than what she once was. Her gaze shot towards Noah, searching for answers in his expression, his body language, anything that might explain why he would deny her this.

But instead, she found him staring towards Fenrir and Arachne again, before turning his attention to the police station. From looking at his side view, Ailetta saw the wheels in his head turning. But what could he be thinking about that was more important than her?

”Le? Why are you....no, what are you thinking about this time? Is it because I stopped the skill?”

Ailetta blankly stared in response to the question. How was she supposed to answer that? And why was he so calm about doing it? But in her speechlessness, she found her body being pulled. Her form lost its initial solidity from her loose composure, causing Noah’s hand to submerge inside her gelatinous back as he pulled her in.

They were now face to face, just inches apart from their foreheads touching, Noah’s eyes stared intently into hers, but there was a hint of impatience.

”Look here, you and I both know that we are gonna be stuck together for the long run, so at least stop with the overthinking already.” He slightly pushed her away, while his hand shot to his chest, his finger almost twitching as it pointed towards the eyes center. ”Did you forget what this was? With this, is there even a need to assume my feelings? To second guess my actions?”

Ailetta’s eyes shot open. How could she forget something so simple? She had the means to understand him better than anyone, and yet she found herself being so vulnerable whenever it came to Noah not accepting her when in fact there was nothing left to accept, she was already his.

Ailetta’s guilt washed over her, but instead of spiraling into apologies, she found herself gazing at Noah’s face with a strange sense of affection. His fed-up expression, the impatience in his eyes, it was all so undeniably Noah. For a moment, she saw past the monster he had become, past the power he wielded, and saw the person she had followed through everything.

He wasn’t a god, not some infallible being, but someone who cared enough to confront her, to ground her when she lost herself in her insecurities. That realization sparked a warmth inside her.

She was unable to contain her love any longer, finding herself jumping into him, her body almost submerging him within her before she composed the rest of herself into a more solid shape, clinging to him like she had been apart for ages.

Noah tensed for a moment, but he didn’t push her away this time. His arms instinctively wrapped around her, the impatience in his eyes melting away. He understood. In her own way, this was her way of expressing everything she had kept hidden: her love, her fear, her desperation to prove herself, all of it came forward.

The two stayed in their embracing position longer than they realized. Ailetta seemed bent on remaining that way, but Noah wasn’t of the same mind.

”So... now that you’re... better, let’s have a proper discussion.” Noah’s tone was gentle, but there was a seriousness to it that Ailetta couldn’t ignore. Reluctantly, she pulled away, meeting his gaze fully.

”At first, I planned to go through with the skill, but the-wait, are you aware of the details of the skill?”

”Of course,” Ailetta replied, her tone matter of factly. ”I still remember you telling me about it at the school. Not only does it allow me to gain the bonuses from your other skills, but you also are able to impart a skill to me that you already have.”

Noah nodded thoughtfully, ”And that’s why I stopped.” He turned his body so they both could get a clear view of Fenrir and Arachne. ”Out of all of my skills, the one that I thought would be more suited for you was my own taming skill, but...is it really the best skill? Without my other skills to complement it, it’s no different from any other tamer out there. And my other skills? Well...with what I plan to do, I don’t expect those skills to remain the same.

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Not much time had passed since Noah had outlined his plans to Ailetta, and now he stood before Fenrir and Arachne, their towering forms looming over him. Despite their overwhelming size and power, the sight of these creatures ready to serve someone barely half their height carried a strange sense of irony.

Fenrir, unable to contain himself, instinctively stepped forward, his massive paws shaking the ground. His tail wagged furiously, joy radiating from the enormous wolf as he prepared to offer his blood.

But before Fenrir could close the distance, Arachne quickly strides between them, blocking his path. Her back was pointed towards Fenrir while her many eyes looked to Noah, gleaming with determination as her possessive voice rang out. ”Fenrir, this time I’m going first!”

Fenrir froze, his tail halting mid-wag as he tilted his head. He let out a playful growl, clearly not thrilled with being second. Arachne, however, wasn’t about to budge; her stubbornness was more imposing than ever.

The tension between them was almost comical, two powerful beings that would give the average person nightmares, were now bickering over the right to assist Noah first.

Noah caught himself bemused with the show, reminiscing about their previous banters and thinking to himself how much of a big sister, little brother bond they shared. The moment was supposed to be serious, and yet he couldn’t help but grin. ”Never change, you two....never change.” He muttered to himself, a small chuckle escaping him. It was hard for him to maintain a serious demeanor when facing the two together.

His moment of rare laughter caused the small tension between the two quarrelers to put their grudges aside. However, the two still wanted to be the first. Noah noted that the scene would only repeat itself if he didn’t mediate it.

With a gentle but firm tone, Noah raised his hand. ”Alright, enough. If you keep this up, we’ll never get anywhere.”

He glanced at Fenrir, his eyes softening. ”Fenrir, Arachne’s going to help me first this time.”

Fenrir’s ears flattened for a moment, but Noah quickly added, ”Don’t worry... I have a feeling this change won’t take as long as before.”

The wolf let out a soft huff but relented, wagging his tail slightly as if to say he understood, even if reluctantly. Arachne was more than satisfied. Her spider form was already bent down, allowing her human form to stand directly before him. Noah picked up on the twitching of limbs and how she unknowingly bit her bottom lip, revealing just how anxious she was. He could sense that her latest mutation made her more emotionally sentient, a fact that was daunting as much as it was desired.

Just like before, he watched as Arachne used the sharp claws of her hands to lightly cut into her skin, making a cut in the middle of her palm, just as he had seen her do before. But after the cut, she seemed to hesitate on what she wanted to do. Her gaze flickered between the wound, and then Ailetta, before going back to Noah’s face.

The hesitation didn’t go unnoticed. Noah stepped closer; his expression unreadable but his eyes never leaving hers. He could sense the unease in her feelings, yet there was a possessive eagerness looming within it.

Unlike Ailetta, Noah didn’t sense any hint of lust coming from the spider. He believed that Arachne’s current emotions were pure and raw, driven by her primal desire to connect more deeply with him.

”What am I going to do with you?”

Without waiting for her acknowledgement, he reached out and gently grasped her bleeding hand, which began to build up a pool of blood on the surface of her palm. Before she could protest, he leaned down, brushing his lips against the cut on her palm. The smell of her blood was strong, slightly causing Noah to lose sense of his surroundings. He was unsure if it was due to her mutation or if it was because his own body had gone through a change.

And it wasn’t just the smell; the taste was addictive. In the back of his mind, he was somewhat glad that he opted to drink the blood this way. The suction of his drinking grew as he delved deeper into what should have been a small tasting.

Arachne’s eyes widened at Noah’s abrupt actions, especially at the intensity with which he drank her blood, gulping as if he had gone days without liquid. Her anxiousness was overcome by an emotion she was oblivious to; she was showing pride. A haughty pride that put a satisfied grin on her face. Watching Noah, she felt that she wouldn’t mind seeing the scene continue on until he was satisfied.

Splurt*

But the sequence of events spiraled towards the usual route. Noah’s back ripped apart, the skin punctured, and blood shot out from the wound. A sharp groan, mixed with a savage-like growl was heard from Noah, that was muffled by his feeding. But the pain he received elicited a small shriek from Arachne, who was subjected to Noah’s fangs that bit down harder than intended after his sudden change.

Three spider-like appendages shot out from his back one at a time in a rapid sequence, each time Noah would grunt, while furiously increasing the pace at which he consumed her blood. His behavior was peculiar...Ailetta, watching nearby, had a feeling that Noah wouldn’t stop until his transformation was complete.

But as she watched, her expression showed just how confused she was. She was there when Noah put up the barrier within his soul, limiting the transfer of power that he received from that entity; an act that caused his transformation to regress as a result. So why were the legs extending out from his back so much similar to the legs that he had from before?